In This Issue:

• LIGHTS OUT FOR SIGN BAN BILL

• SUPPORTED BILLS PASS FIRST POLICY COMMITTEE

• DUAL PLUMBED BUILDING REGULATIONS

• CALIFORNIA GREEN BUILDING CODE AVAILABLE ONLINE

• PEX (CROSS-LINKED POLYETHYLENE) CEQA REVIEW

• CALIFORNIA COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SUMMIT 2009 -- RESERVE YOUR PLACE NOW

• CBPA 2009 CALENDAR

LIGHTS OUT FOR SIGN BAN BILL

AB 109 (Feuer; D-Los Angeles) a bill that attempted to ban digital billboards was defeated on a vote of 3-10 in the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee. The bill, opposed by a broad range of business, local government, and land rights organizations, would have put a moratorium on electronic billboards. We disagreed with both the specific policy at hand, banning billboards, but also with implication that such a ban has on private property rights.
 

SUPPORTED BILLS PASS FIRST POLICY COMMITTEE

Although we tend to focus on the bills we dislike, there are many bills in the legislature that we support. Here are several of those “good bills” that have passed their first policy committees and are moving through the process:

* AB 210 (Hayashi; D - Hayward) Specifies a city or county can adopt “green” building standards, but keeps current law intact by assuring the Building Standards Commission is notified.

* AB 531 (Saldana; D – San Diego) Removes the state’s strict benchmarking mandate and requires a regulatory process instead. Enables utilities to release certain energy data to building owners to facilitate Energy Star benchmarking.

* AB 560 (Skinner; D - Berkeley) Requires that the standard contract or tariff for net energy metering be offered on a first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity used by customer-generators exceeds a specified percent of an electric distribution utility or cooperative's peak demand.

* AB 758 (Skinner; D - Berkeley) Requires the Energy Commission to establish a regulatory proceeding to develop a program to achieve greater energy savings in the state's existing residential and commercial buildings.

* AB 1105 (Blakeslee; R – San Luis Obispo) Creates the Building Energy Retrofit Revolving Loan Program Fund, to assist upgrading nonresidential buildings built before 1978.

* SB 476 (Correa; D – Santa Ana) Prohibits an action or proceeding from being brought based on alleged grounds of noncompliance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) unless the alleged grounds for noncompliance were presented to the public agency orally or in writing by any person during the public comment period provided under the CEQA or prior to the close of the public hearing on the project before the issuance filing, rather than issuance, of the notice of determination.
 

DUAL PLUMBED BUILDING REGULATIONS

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) will hold May workshops in Sacramento and San Diego to introduce draft language for dual plumbed building design standards for recycled water systems for adoption into the California Plumbing Code (California Code of Regulations Title 24, Part 5, Chapter 16 Part II). Draft language and other pertinent information can be found here.  Comments are due prior to May 29. Please send any feedback you may have to Matthew Hargrove.
 

CALIFORNIA GREEN BUILDING CODE AVAILABLE ONLINE

The new California Green Building Code is effective on August 1, 2009. California was the first state in the nation to adopt a green building code. Click here to see the document online.

PEX (CROSS-LINKED POLYETHYLENE) CEQA REVIEW

Approved by the Building Standards Commission on January 22, 2009, and effective August 1, 2009, click here to read the final EIR on the adoption of regulations allowing the use of PEX tubing.
 

CALIFORNIA COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SUMMIT 2009 -- RESERVE YOUR PLACE NOW

The California Commercial Real Estate Summit (CCRES) will be held in Sacramento on June 9 & 10, 2009. This event is the one time of year that industry leaders converge on California's Capitol to discuss with policymakers issues impacting commercial real estate. The summit will give you an opportunity to meet industry leaders from across the nation, high-level staff from Governor Schwarzenegger's Administration, and California State Legislator's.

For hotel accommodations, please contact the Hyatt Regency directly, 1-800-233-1234, and ask for the "CCRES" block of rooms. Deadline for Room Reservations is May 18, 2009.

The Commercial Real Estate Summit is organized by California Business Properties Association (CBPA) which is the designated legislative advocate for the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the California chapters of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP), the Building Owners and Managers Association of California (BOMA), the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), the California Downtown Association (CDA), the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), the Association of Commercial Real Estate – Southern California (ACRE) and the Certified Commercial Investment Members Institute (CCIM).

Click here for all the details. 

 

CBPA 2009 CALENDAR

June 9-10, 2009
CBPA Board Meeting and
California Commercial Real Estate Summit (CCRES)
Sacramento, CA (Hyatt Regency)

November 5-6, 2009
CBPA Board Meeting and
Real Estate Industry Strategic Issues Conference
Napa, CA (Meritage)